Embark on an emotional journey through time as a young girl discovers the rich, resilient history of her ancestors hidden within the soil of Texas. From the dawn of freedom to the founding of a community, this beautifully illustrated story captures the enduring power of family, faith, and the sacred spaces that keep our legacies alive. It is an inspiring tribute to the deep roots that shape who we are today.
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Research the connection between the Daniels Family and the Ringer family? Rocky Mount Cemetery · Marsha Jenakovich Vania Successful. Charming. Visionary. According to public records, Randle Ringer was born July 5, 1872, in Freestone County, Texas. He appears in the 1880 US Census at age 8 with his parents, Stephen and Delia Ringer. He married Ella Henry on August 11, 1892, and they had 6 children—Mattie, Willie, Waddie, Elizabeth (Bessie), Anna Bell, and Guy—before she died. Randle purchased his first parcel of land from BB Kimbell in 1893 and another in 1894. In 1905, the first person was buried in Rocky Mount Cemetery, established on Randle’s land. In 1907, Randle had a daughter, Cora, with Alice Abram. In 1908, he purchased land from Mrs. Pearl Reeves, and on 11-11-1908, he founded the Rocky Mount Baptist Church. In about 1909. Randle married Ella’s sister, Margaret Henry, and they had a son, Fred, before they divorced about 1920. In 1925, Randle donated land to establish a local camp of the Colored National Woodman of Texas, a Black fraternal/benevolent association (later used to house Allied Lodge #239, Free and Accepted Masons). Randle and his third wife, Reaner, divorced in 1930. Randle appears in the 1940 US Census living with daughter Annie Bell Williams and her family. According to his death certificate, Randle died of natural causes at age 72 on December 12, 1955, and is buried in Rocky Mount Cemetery. No headstone has been found. Rocky Mount Cemetery · Marsha Jenakovich Vania Cemetery Walk & Talk Update: Despite the blazing hot weather, we were able to walk the cemetery with about half a dozen descendants who helped identify family members and confirmed stories that there are several graves, possibly even some with stones, outside the fenced area of the cemetery. For example, we looked at the resting place of Melia Daniel (b. 1857, d. 1947), whose unusual pink stone faces the fence (exactly opposite the other stones, that face the church) and whose feet are clearly on the other side of the fence Rocky Mount Cemetery · Marsha Jenakovich Vania Delia Jackson Ringer Hooper was born in bondage in about 1849 in Mississippi, possibly Natchez, making her about 16 years old on Juneteenth. According to census records, her mother was born in South Carolina and her father in Maryland. She married Stephen Ringer—a man nearly 50 years her senior—in about 1870 and they had 10 children: Randle, Henry, Tode, Malissa, Leona, Clem, Nancy, Addie, Annie, and Tennessee. When Stephen died in 1898, she married Henry Hooper. According to the 1900 US Census, she is the mother of 14 children, 9 living. She died on 7-17-1928 at the age of 80. Per her death certificate, the undertaker was her son, Randle Ringer. "Beden Stroud, Republic of Texas senator and Indian agent, was born between 1790 and 1800 in Morgan County, Georgia, the son of John and Sallie (Phillips) Stroud. He moved about 1818 to Chambers County, Alabama, where he and his brothers engaged in farming and stock raising. He and his older brother, Ethan A. Stroud, moved to Texas, probably in 1837, and located near the site of present Calvert. Shortly after his arrival in Texas, Stroud took an active part in the affairs of the republic, being elected to represent the districts of Robertson and Milam in the Senate of the republic from 1838 to 1841. With the return of Sam Houston to the presidency of Texas in 1841 and the adoption of a moderate policy toward the Indians, Stroud and his brother became Indian agents and maintained Strouds' Station on the upper Brazos. Their purpose was to foster commerce and keep in friendly touch with Indians. Stroud probably moved to Burr Oak Springs near Fort Parker and Springfield in what is now Limestone County in 1844. The census of 1850 showed him to have been owner of substantial property and livestock there. He was a master Mason. Stroud died in August 1865 and was buried near Burr Oak Springs.
